Oscar Piastri took eighth place in qualifying. His teammate Lando Norris will start from pole position.
Lando Norris was given a chance to move into first place in the championship. He will start the race from the first place. His teammate Oscar Piastri finished eighth, nearly 6 tenths behind. On the starting grid, thanks to Sainz’s penalty, he will move up one place, but he will still have a long way to go on the podium.
“I’m here to win,” Norris told Sky Sports. “I’m looking forward. I know there will be some fast drivers behind me. It’s a long way to the first corner. Ferrari’s pace is usually very strong.”
“I expect a battle, I don’t expect it to be easy. I look forward and see how much I can win.”
I just don’t have the pace, says Piastri
Piastri’s result was no surprise. He was tenth in the first part of the qualification, seventh in the second. In the third, where it was already the final ranking, he finished eighth.
“We just don’t have the pace, which is a bit of a mystery,” Piastri told Sky Sports.
“All weekend the gap was more or less the same, so we’ll see where we went wrong. It’s obviously a bit frustrating. My feelings in the car haven’t changed much. Just this weekend and last weekend I felt like we lacked pace. I’m not 100 per cent sure why yet, so we’ll investigate.”
“I will try my best (on the long straight before the first corner). It will be an opportunity to move forward. We will see what I can do.”
According to Stella, Piastri’s performance needs to be analyzed
“On Oscar’s side, there are a few things to evaluate,” said Andrea Stella. “It’s harder for him to control the car when the conditions are slippery – just like it was in Austin.
“It’s something we have to analyze and improve by tomorrow. Oscar loses a few thousandths of a second in virtually every corner compared to Lando, so it’s about finding the right feel in these conditions and being able to push a little bit more in every corner.”
“But it’s hard to push that bit more without risking a mistake. I think the race pace is strong for both drivers. I’m sure Oscar can get a few positions back.”
